How do you determine how much stearic acid to add?

by Lisa From Wisconsin

Hi Cathy...Thank you so much for answering everyone's questions. :)

I have been learning a lot! Thanks Again. Now It's my turn for a question......or 2. :)

I have been making CP soap for about 3 years now. I haven't strayed too... far from my comfort zone. I have recently purchased some stearic acid. Made 4 batches by adding .5 oz per # of soap. (I haven't found a lot of info on how much to add except .5oz per lb. or 1 Tbl per lb.)How much is too much SA?

I added SA to 4 separate recipes and each one acted about the same except for one which had a little more "soft" oils. (Traced slower.)

I am wanting to up the hardness of my shampoo bar. I am using less "soft" oils in my recipe as to keep the bar harder and longer lasting as I can. Now my question is when using the soapcalc Which qualities should I be watching? Hardness,,Linolenic?

If my recipe right now is say at a hardness of 30 and I want to up that to say 40 would there be any other indications of hardness of the bar? when I up the "soft" oils then 30 drops down. do I add enough SA to raise it back to 30 or 40. That also seams like a lot of SA. Or is that what I need to do?

Am I wrong in thinking that...If more "soft" oils are used in a recipe, then I could use way more SA to make a hard bar of shampoo?

How do I know when I have reached a good hardness for my shampoo recipe?

OK I am confused. Lol.

Answer:

Look for Lauric, Myristic, Palmitic and Strearic acids in the oils you want to use. These acids all lend hardness to a soap bar formula.

Remember that a shampoo bar tends to have larger quantities of castor oil in it so you will find that a shampoo bar is often a bit softer than your regular soap formula. That softeness is a trade off we make in order to have that lovely fluffy lather.

Adding in stearic acid will certainly harden up the bar but I wouldn't go too crazy with it since it may be sensitizing in larger quantities.

Beeswax might be another option you could use to harden your shampoo as well.

Good luck,
Cathy

Comments for How do you determine how much stearic acid to add?

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Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Adding to a Facial Cleanser
by: Anonymous

I'm looking to thicken up a product and want to know how much stearic acid to use to an 8oz product with 1oz oil.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		SA in soap
by: Coko Tee

Thank you Cathy, my soap turned out real nice. Its been 6 days since I unmolded and it feels almost hard to touch. I can't wait to see how hard it will be in 3 more weeks.

Do you think the hardness equals the resistance? I read somewhere that hard soap doesn't mean it will last longer.

I'm a new soap maker and this is my 4th successful batch..so far!

God bless you for what you do.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Can you add beeswax and Stearic acid
by: CokoTee

Can you use both beeswax and SA in one batch of soap..?

I plan to use 2% each of beeswax and SA in a 4.8 pound total oil weight batch.

Do you think that's too much as I really want a hard long lasting bar.

I super-fatted at 6% using coconut, olive, sunflower oils.

Thanks

Answer:

Yes you can use both ingredients in your recipe and 2% of each should be fine.

The oils you are using in your recipe contain low amounts of stearic acid and palmitic acid of their own so adding in a bit of stearic acid will help to firm up the bars.

If you were making a batch of soap that contained lots of hard oils high in palm and stearic acid already, you would not want to add any extra at all.

Don't forget to include the beeswax and stearic acid in the formula when entering it into SoapCalc as both have a SAP value.

Be sure to melt the beeswax and stearic acid first, then add in the coconut oil slowly until it has melted. Then add in your liquid oils.

Good luck,
Cathy
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		What % is too crazy?
by: Anonymous

I have been using a % of SA at 5-10%. I use it as a substitute for palm oil. I havent experienced any dryness, flakiness, etc as others mentioned above. The only difference is that the soap is much more moisturizing , lasts longer than with palm oil, and the bars come out of the mold so much prettier. However, I do superfat my soap at 5% and use Apple cider vinegar instead of water.
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starstarstarstarstar 		This is a helpful comment
by: Not SPAM

Question-asker, I think you made a mistake. You've added 0.5 oz of stearic acid per pound of oil, which gives you a 3% ratio of stearic acid to oil. Big mistake! I followed your "advice" and my bar of soap turned out all flaky and waaay too basic (I don't know why it was so basic, though, as I'm pretty sure I used the correct amount of lye).

Anyway, the amount of stearic acid to add is supposed to be 0.5% of your total oils.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		How do you ad your stearic acid to your cp soap?
by: Anonymous

I'm new at this and I want a harder bar. However I don't know how to add it. I note someone stated to add it to your oils, however will it melt? or do i have to melt it first in the microwave?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Adding Stearic Acid
by: Anonymous

Someone asked when to add stearic acid when making soap. You add it with your oils. SA has it's own SAP value. Run it through the soap calculator as you would any oils, butters, fats etc.
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		Adding SA
by: Anonymous

At what stage in the cold process do you add the SA?
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		SA usage rate
by: Anonymous

I use stearic acid at a rate of 1/8 to 1/4 ounce per pound of oils and I get a very nice hard bar of soap.

I have also used beeswax at 1% but I think you can go as high as 2%...
Rating
starstarstarstarstar 		beeswax
by: Anonymous

"Beeswax might be another option you could use to harden your shampoo as well."

OK so what would be the % for adding beeswax?
Would I be able to use it with the stearic acid?

Thank you, you have help me immensely.
Lisa

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